Heredity or Environment?
by Flamehail
Summary: Cara Nevers is just starting at Hogwarts, but is plagued by strange dreams and the even stranger behavior of the people around her. And then she sees a familiar face... So whatever happens to Harry's kids? R&R PLEASE!!!!
1. Visions and Dreams

A/N: Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so I want lots of useful reviews!!!!! Hopefully y'all like it!  
  
Heredity or Environment Ch. 1: Visions and Dreams  
  
Two. Herself and one not herself. Hungry. Cold. The bad man. Mommy. Mommy! We're hungry, Mommy. Mommy, why don't you listen? Bang! The door! Daddy! Make her listen! We're so hungry. It's so cold. The bad man steps forward. A flash of lightning. Daddy moves, and yells. No! Flash! The bad man is gone. Where did he go, Mommy? Daddy? What are you doing? Daddy, that's Mommy. Don't hurt her! No, no! Daddy raises his arm - the Other leaps to Mommy - Flash! Mommy crumples, and the Other. No! No, Daddy! No, Mommy! No, no! Daddy takes me. No, don't touch me. You hurt Mommy. Mommy.. Where are you taking me? The Other, the Other, don't leave her! I am gone. But it's cold, so cold. No, no..  
  
Cara Nevers awoke with a start, shivering. "No, no.," she echoed under her breath. That dream again.it was so real. But it didn't make any sense. Both of her parents were alive and well. And what of this "Other," who she and Dad had supposedly abandoned? It didn't make any sense. None at all.and yet, she couldn't shake the dream. She never could.  
  
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The shadow of the illogical dream still hung over her when she came down for breakfast the next morning. She was silent as she sat down at her place and drank her juice, absentmindedly listening to the buzz of the busy kitchen.  
  
"Those dimwits from the 'Save the Moke Foundation' are at it again," griped Mr. Nevers. "'Yet another demonstration by the fanatic members of SMF disrupted business in Diagon Alley Tuesday morning,'" he read. "When will they ever learn?"  
  
"Speaking of mokes, dear, did you ever find that nice wallet your folks sent you?" asked Mrs. Nevers as she shot juice from her wand into a glass for Cara's 2-year-younger brother, who had just arrived, shouting.  
  
"Guess what?! The Bats won their game last night, which means they only have to beat out the Falcons and they'll be in it for the League Cup!" he shouted excitedly, for the hundredth time since last night. Nine-year-old David was intensely interested in Quidditch, and especially the Ballycastle Bats, which, as he often said, were practically local.  
  
"Quiet, Davie, they're playing 'Dragon's Blood!'" Seven (and three-quarters!) year-old Shirley shrilled, turning up the volume on the Wizarding Wireless.  
  
It was, Cara thought, just a typical morning in the Nevers' household. She ought to be able to just join in and forget about stupid, illogical dreams. But somehow she just couldn't seem to shake it off.  
  
"Cara, dear - Shirley turn that radio DOWN! - you're awfully quiet this morning. Anything on your mind?" asked Mrs. Nevers as she loaded her eldest daughter's plate with sausages.  
  
Cara shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing, Mum," she assured her mother. Mr. And Mrs. Nevers exchanged glances. "All right then," said her mother. "You remember we're going down to Diagon Alley today to get your Hogwarts things?"  
  
Cara looked up. She had forgotten. "Of course I remember, Mum! I can't wait!" She smiled.  
  
"Awww, Mama, I want to come too!" cried Shirley.  
  
"And me!" added David. "I want to see if Qua-"  
  
"No! This trip is just your mother and sister. You two get to come and test ride the new brooms, remember?" intervened Mr. Nevers.  
  
"Oh, yeah! I want to go! When are we leaving?!" shouted David enthusiastically.  
  
Shirley rolled her eyes. "I'd rather go to London," she said.  
  
"Well, you'll just have to settle for brooms," replied her father in the same tone. "We'll leave soon." 


	2. Old Friends

Heredity or Environment Ch. 2: Old Friends  
  
One hour and a wild Floo ride later, Cara and Mrs. Nevers were strolling through Diagon Alley, examining brooms, books, and bat wings through the windows of the shops. Mrs. Nevers had retrieved plenty of money from their Gringotts vault, and they were now concentrating on checking off the items on the Hogwarts supply list.  
  
Cara's letter had arrived 2 months before, on her 11th birthday. She was vaguely suspicious of the enormous relief her parents had shown - happiness she had expected, but relief? Had they thought she wasn't magical enough to make it in to Hogwarts? That was ridiculous, and yet.. Cara dismissed such thoughts from her mind. After all, she was the oldest, and it was likely just a case of parent-jitters.  
  
Mrs. Nevers looked over the list w/ a nostalgic smile. "Sure haven't changed this much since I was at Hogwarts," she said. "Let's get your robes first, and I'll grab your potions stuff and cauldron while you're being fitted. Then we can get a telescope and your books, and the wand last. Sound like a plan?"  
  
"Works for me," replied Cara agreeably. The first part of the plan went quite smoothly, and so finally, laden down w/ packages (but not a cauldron, which Mrs. Nevers had sent on to the Leaky Cauldron), they found themselves at Ollivander's.  
  
The ancient, silvery-eyed wandmaker smiled eerily when they entered. "Michelle Nevers. Beechwood, 12 inches, unicorn hair, rather springy, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yes sir," replied Mrs. Nevers, "and a very nice wand it is yet."  
  
Ollivander nodded. "Yes, yes. And this - this is Caralyn -" he stopped short and glanced at Mrs. Nevers. "-Carlyn Nevers, of course." He regarded her silently for a long moment, and Cara shifted rather uncomfortably under his silvery gaze.  
  
"Yes, yes.. Hmmm. Wand arm, please?" Ollivander set a tape measure to measuring her while he searched his crowded shelves. "Try this, holly and phoenix feather, 8 and a half inches." He handed her a wand and almost immediately snatched it back. "No, no, that won't do. Here, mahogany and unicorn hair, 10 inches, quite stiff. Try it, go on." This too was immediately rejected. "No, no. Willow and phoenix feather, 12 and a half inches, whippy. Go on, go on, -- No, no, that won't do, let's see here. Aha!" he exclaimed, pulling a box from the shelf. "Try this. Maple and dragon heartstring, 11 and three-quarter inches, pliable. Go on."  
  
Cara took the wand and immediately felt a warm tingling spread up her arm. She flicked it and a shower of gold and green sparks burst from the end of it.  
  
"Perfect! Oh, brava! Very good, yes indeed. Well, well.." He took the wand and boxed it, accepting the 7 Galleons payment from Mrs. Nevers.  
  
As Cara took the box, he gave her one last piercing stare. His eyes flicked to Mrs. Nevers and back. "Hmmm, yes indeed. Well, so long, Miss. Nevers. Good fortune."  
  
Cara left the shop with a feeling of unease, seemingly situated right between her shoulder-blades. Why was everyone around her acting so strange? It was so odd.. But before she had time to dwell on the strange behavior of the wandmaker, she was startled out of her reverie by an exclamation.  
  
"Michelle! Caralee! What a surprise!"  
  
They turned to see a short brunette, stylishly dressed and laden with packages, hurrying towards them.  
  
"Why, Lavender, we haven't seen you in ages! How is the family?" cried Mrs. Nevers. It was Mrs. Nevers old school friend Lavender Boot and her daughter Lilac, who was entering her second year at Hogwarts.  
  
The four of them had a very enjoyable luncheon at the Leaky Cauldron, chatting about the adults' days at school, Lilac's adventures of the past year, what Cara could expect, and, naturally, gossiping about all their shared friends and acquaintances.  
  
Cara was not quite as interested in Lilac's endless tales of her romantic conquests as she pretended to be, and so she heard quite clearly Mrs. Boot's mention of "Harry Potter." The renowned name of the famous wizard was enough to make anyone perk up, and of course, her mother and Mrs. Boot had known him at school.  
  
"So have you heard anything about what Harry Potter has been up to lately?" asked Mrs. Boot.  
  
"No, we haven't heard from him since we got out of school, really, and he hasn't been in the news much lately, has he?"  
  
"No, he hasn't, it's rather odd, isn't it? I remember him from Hogwarts, all the scrapes he and Hermione Granger and that Weasley boy used to get into. He was very untidy, no fashion sense at all, but so brave! Of course, he was famous even then but he seemed just another one of the boys."  
  
"If you totally ignore the fact that all of his 'scrapes' involved You-Know-Who, maybe!" laughed Mrs. Nevers in reply.  
  
"Which is one reason it's strange to have heard nothing of him lately. Do you know if he ever remarried? Settled down? Of course, it was such a tragedy, the death of his wife and his girls coming all at once like that, but it's been 10 years, you'd think he might have found somebody."  
  
"So far as I know he's still wand'ring around in a bit of a funk," said Mrs. Nevers. "I hear from Hermione occasionally, but either she doesn't keep in touch w/ him or she just never mentions him in her letters, I don't know."  
  
"And how is she doing? And Ron? And the kids?" asked Mrs. Boot. They went back to boring gossip and Cara returned to Lilac's blathering. Such a tragedy.. 


	3. Chatterboxes and Chugging Trains

A/N: Ok, here's Chapter 3. It's a bit longer than the first two, and you may notice that Kate's name got changed to Cara. I just wasn't satisfied w/ the name before, and Cara seems to fit a lot better. I'll be going back and fixing it in the first two chapters too, but in case you get here first, that's what's up. Thanks for your patience and GIVE ME REVIEWS!!! PLEASE!!!! ^_^  
  
Heredity or Environment Ch. 3: Chatterboxes and Chugging Trains  
  
September First. King's Cross. Platform 9 and ¾ . There seemed to be a thousand tiny Snidgets swarming around in Cara's stomach. At last, she was headed to Hogwarts! Her stuff was packed, her trunk was loaded on to the train, and all that remained was to kiss her family goodbye.  
  
David and Shirley jumped around excitedly. "Don't forget to owl me all about the Quidditch matches! You have to try out for your House team!" shouted Davie.  
  
"And send me lots of presents, and pictures! And you'll put up my drawings in your room, won't you?" pleaded Shirley-the-artist with puppy- dog eyes.  
  
"Of course I will. To all of it," promised their sister, hugging them and giving them each a kiss on the top of their heads.  
  
Mr. Nevers took Cara into a big bear hug. "I know you'll do fine, dear," he told her. "And know. know that you can always talk to us about anything. Anything at all." He smiled suddenly, lightening his serious tone. "And don't forget to check out all the brooms there. There should be a bunch of my cards in your trunk. just in case." He winked at her.  
  
Then it was her mother's turn. She hugged and kissed Cara, then held her out at arm's length. "Don't forget to write and tell us everything. That's why we bought you Guess, remember." Guess was the tawny owl the Nevers' had gotten Cara for her birthday. Her mother was speaking again. ". and don't forget to brush your teeth three times a day, and eat healthy meals, not just sweets." Mrs. Nevers looked at Cara again, her eyes filled w/ tears. "And. and. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time, your father and I did, when we were there. And know that no matter what happens, we'll be proud of you and love you, remember that, no matter what you hear."  
  
Cara looked at her quizzically. What could she possibly hear that would make her thing her parents - her own parents! - didn't love her?  
  
But Mrs. Nevers had pulled her into another hug, and the train was whistling. "So long!" cried Cara, leaping onto the train. "I love you!" She waved at her family, at the two younger children running alongside until the train sped up and chugged away out of sight, carrying her away from all she knew and loved. Sighing, and still puzzling over her mother's last words, Cara made her way to an empty compartment.  
  
She was joined not long later by a blonde girl with a button nose and flashing teeth. "Hullo! Don't mind company, do you?" she asked cheerily, seating herself on the seat opposite Cara.  
  
Cara shook her head no; it was clear this girl meant to stay with or without her acquiescence, so she might as well give it.  
  
"I'm Joelle Perenna. This is my first year, but my brother Jacob is in his fifth. What year are you? Do you have any siblings? Don't you know anybody or why are you sitting here all alone?" This all tumbled out very fast, and Cara just sat and stared.  
  
"Erm, my name's Cara Nevers. I'm a first year too. My sibs are both younger and," she added sarcastically, "I was sitting alone because I like the quiet."  
  
Joelle rattled on, completely oblivious to Cara's not-so-subtle hint. "That's neat that we're the same year, I wonder if we'll be in the same House. I wonder what House we'll be in at all. I wish I had younger brothers and sisters; mine are all older than me by a lot. Jacob's four years older and then John's four year's older than him, and Joleen's a year older than that, and then Josh is two years older than her. He's 22, isn't that old? I wish I were that old already and could go off and work for the Ministry like he does or even Gringott's like Joleen. Just so long as I don't turn out like John. Mom says he's a deadbeat and she's always telling him to go out and get a job. Dad's tried to get him a job with him; he's an Obliviator; but no one will have him because he's such a deadbeat. What does your dad do?"  
  
Cara was brought back from the land of the glazed eyes by the question. "My father's a Product Manager for Firebolt Brooms, Ltd. He tests the new models," she replied.  
  
"Oh, that is so cool. I wish my dad worked with brooms; all he does is go around ruining people's memories. He doesn't even like Quidditch, can you imagine that?" Joelle continued rambling along. Guess gave an irritated hoot from her cage in the corner, as if to say "enough already!"  
  
Joelle turned to the owl. "Oh, what an adorable owl!! What's it's name? Is it a boy or a girl? When did you get it? Is it yours?"  
  
Cara sighed, and then a gleam came into her eyes. "Yes she's mine. I got her for my birthday. And her name is. Guess."  
  
"Oh, I love guessing games!" cried Joelle. Cara stifled a snigger. "Is it Polly?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Ingrid? Hedwig? Sweety? Chocolate? Tawny? Baby? Feathers?"  
  
"No, no, no, no, no, no and no."  
  
"Well, what is it then?"  
  
"Guess!"  
  
"But I have already! Ok, Merlin? Cliodna? Minerva? Hooter? Nightbreeze?"  
  
"Nope, none of them."  
  
"Am I anywhere close?"  
  
"Nope. It's Guess."  
  
"Can't you give me a clue?"  
  
"Guess!"  
  
"But I have! Unless. "  
  
"Her name is Guess."  
  
Joelle was silent for a moment, then suddenly she collapsed in laughter. "It's Guess!!! That's so great!! 'What's your owl's name?' 'Guess!' Oh, that's the best thing I've ever heard!!"  
  
Cara grinned, glad to have silenced her, even for a split second, and rather proud of her own joke. However, Joelle almost immediately launched into a long and involved tale of all of her family's owls, and Cara's eyes quickly glazed over again.  
  
The opening compartment door was a welcome break, as Joelle finally paused, right in the middle of explaining about her brother's best friend's boss's wife's cousin's uncle's owl who could. what he could do, Cara never learned, because in the doorway stood a tall boy with red hair and slightly- larger-than-normal teeth. Cara vaguely recognized him as one of the Weasley boys from encounters with her mom's old friend Hermione. She knew the Ron-and-Hermione branch had a boy about her age.  
  
He seemed to recognize her too, for he said, "Cara Nevers, isn't it? Remember me? James Weasley?"  
  
Cara snapped her fingers. "Oh, yess, Jimmy! I couldn't remember which one you were for a second."  
  
James turned red and muttered, "I prefer James now, actually, or Jim even."  
  
Cara grinned. "Sorry."  
  
He gave a grim smile. "Well, anyway, have either of you seen my cousins?"  
  
"Which ones?" piped in Joelle, "if you're a Weasley, and I don't know which branch of Weasley you are at all, but whichever one you are, you must have a lot of cousins."  
  
Jim gave her a look somewhere between disgusted and frightened. "Elfy and Zach, the not-twins, you remember, Cara?"  
  
Cara smiled. Elfrida was George and Kate's daughter, and Zechariahs was Fred and Alicia's son, and together the two were twice as much trouble as their father's had ever been. "No, I haven't seen them. Why?"  
  
Jim rolled his eyes. "They 'forgot' their sandwiches, so of course I end up with them. Well, I know they left 'em behind on purpose, but I don't want to be stuck with them all day."  
  
Cara grimaced sympathetically. "Well, if they left them behind on purpose, perhaps you ought to just toss them."  
  
"I suppose so," agreed Jim reluctantly.  
  
"Yes, c'mon James, give up the gun and join us. A Weasley is always welcome, no matter which one you are, by me at least. Won't you sit down?"  
  
Jim backed away quickly, avoiding Cara's pleading gaze. "No, I'm quite all right, really," he stammered and dashed off. Cara sighed as Joelle picked up again. It was gonna be a looooong trip. 


End file.
